


I Guess We Were Meant to Be?

by Happylilkatsudon



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Oneshot, Soulmate-Faded Past Memories, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 01:13:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20145121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happylilkatsudon/pseuds/Happylilkatsudon
Summary: Junhee's body had always shared a window into his past lives, becoming a sort of scrapbook that contained numerous amounts of memories and moments that he'd experienced and lived through, but one scar had always been a little bit more complex than the others. Unbeknownst to him, this one had a person attached to it.





	I Guess We Were Meant to Be?

**Author's Note:**

> Hi hi! Firstly, I want to say thanks so much for deciding to give this oneshot a chance. It took much longer than it needed to have, and I'm honestly so pleased with how it came out and I just wanna show! it! off! So here she is :D This story idea originally came from a conversation I had with one of my moots on Twitter while I was crying over Junhee, which is like a full-time job for me, and I really hope I did the concept justice despite this story deviating a little bit from the original idea.
> 
> One more thing: You can find me on Twitter (@veryberryjunhee)! Come say hi to me if you feel like it! :D
> 
> Have a fun time reading!!

My nights had always been like this.

Faded memories—could you even call them memories?—flickered through my head ever so often, triggered by something so simple as tying my shoe laces or watering my cactus, replaying lost emotions and thoughts that I sometimes found myself missing.

Memories of laughing with people who must have been my friends, memories of sinking my feet into the cold ocean, memories of _things_ from a past I’d once lived: They were constant reminders of who I had been and what I had ultimately lost.

It wasn't supposed to be like this, either. Other people _knew _the reason for their memories, and I was virtually the same, aside from one of the memories that refused to be ignored no matter how often I tried to forget it.

I looked down from the desk on which I was writing another song and looked at my wrist, sighing. The mark there—faded but never gone, even after years of trying to remove it in various ways, some even dangerous—ached as I feathered my fingers over it. It meant something, I knew, but what it meant I'd not discovered yet. I knew it was attached to that memory, but I was ignorant to its true reason. I was trapped in a constant, mind-numbing unknowing-ness.

I hated it.

My mind wandered as I touched the mark, paying no mind to the tender skin as my fingers danced over it. It was the only puzzle on my body I'd never solved. I'd learned from the slideshow that constantly played through my mind that the birthmark on my abdomen was from a gunshot wound that had killed me in one of my past lives, that my eyes were as dark as they were because I'd been blind once, that my hair barely ever grew after it had learned decades ago that I chopped it off before its length could reach my chin.

But the mark? I could only guess. Images of the same hand grabbing my wrist over and over in the same way through past decades was the only hint I could get, no matter how hard I tried to focus.

It was like this one was special. It was like this one was locked inside a wooden box, buried under soil made of frustration.

"Ow," I mumbled now, my lips parting as I stared at my wrist. The mark had begun to sting and pop slightly with electricity, warning me to give up on the touch and the curiosity that naturally came along with it.

I leaned back in my seat, sighing again as I looked up at the old ceiling of my apartment. My mind was running a million miles a minute, and there was no way I was going to be able to control it any time soon.

I figured I'd give myself a break and take a walk through the crowded city streets. It definitely beat sitting in my room all night.

The night air was starting to get cooler as the world transitioned from summer to autumn, I remembered. I made sure to grab my coat before heading out the door, and it wasn't long before my legs were carrying me down the flights of stairs and out of the warm, safe lobby of my apartment building.

Some people didn't care much for the city. Some people preferred the calm softness of the countryside, but not me.

I felt _alive_ in the city, more so than anywhere else. My body felt eased when I heard the sounds of car horns and people shuffling through their own lives, paying no mind to me. I felt hidden away and safe in such a large place, which may have seemed counterintuitive to some people. Here, I could be myself. I didn't have the microscope of small-town reputations focusing on me.

The wind was chilled as it blew past me, ruffling my hair and turning my cheeks a slight pink with cold. I glanced around me, looking for something interesting to do. Nearly everything was still open, so I had the option of numerous things to do at my fingertips. My eyes glanced around at the numerous places to shop and eat, until one popped out at me.

I smiled, my lips curling up so slightly on each end as I found the perfect place to visit, tucked in one of the alleys that ran through Gangnam with only a bright sign indicating that it even existed at all. I shuffled through the crowd, my fingers twitching to pull open the door to the bookshop I knew would be at most the slightest bit busy at this time of night.

I realized I was right as I pulled open the door and stepped inside, greeted by quiet whispers and the smell of coffee. No one was there, aside from an older cashier and the man that sat at a coffee table with a book in his hand. It felt cliché, the image I found myself painted into at this moment, but I'd always been a little cliché anyway.

"Hello," I said to the cashier with a polite smile as I stepped into the building. I shrugged off my coat, allowing my eyes to wander through the shelves. Fantasy, nonfiction, classic literature, educational literature, and so much more flooded the old shelves. "Excuse me, sir," I said, turning to the man behind the counter, "what time do you close? I might lose track of time looking through all the shelves." I laughed, easing myself and the man into comfort.

The man's eyes smiled as he said, "In just a couple hours, but take your time. I'll let you know when it's time to close up if you're still here."

"Thanks," I responded. My feet were already moving toward the left side of the store, my mind running, wondering what new story could bring me to another world.

The covers on some of the books were new, and the covers on some of the books were old. It seemed to be some kind of consignment store I was in, but I wasn't complaining. The past was always more interesting than the present.

As I scanned through some of the older books and read through their synopses, I noticed my wrist starting to ache slightly. "Strange," I murmured to myself, rubbing at the skin around the mark, careful not to touch the scar itself for fear it would send another electric shock up to my elbow.

"Uh, hey," I heard quietly behind me from my left. "I don't know if we've ever met before, but you looked familiar and I thought I'd just come and say hi."

I looked up from my wrist and turned to see who the person talking to me was, and to say that my breath was taken out of my chest would be an understatement.

He was beautiful. His dark eyes were the thing that struck me first; they were so _encompassing_ and _friendly_ and _welcoming_. It was uncommon for me to find someone who seemed nice enough to where I could let them get to know me, but with this man, I felt immediately comfortable when I barely knew him.

His lips were drawn back in a smile as he looked at me, and that's when I knew.

This man was an enigma unlike anyone else. It was just the _way _he smiled. It was hard to explain, really.

"Oh, yeah," I said quickly in an attempt to control my staring, my smile coming out again. I let out a small wave of my hand as I said, "Um, hi. I don't think we've met before"—something in my brain shouted _liar _at me_—_"but you kind of look familiar too."

"Oh, good," the man said visibly relieved. Something in his posture slacked, and he seemed to be more comfortable. "So, it wasn't just me. I'm Lee Donghun, by the way." The man extended a hand to me, which I reached for without second thought.

"Park Junhe—e," I said with some difficulty as I took the hand. It felt like lead in my own hand as I held it. Was there something wrong with my arm?

Donghun seemed to notice it, too, and his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He quickly took it from my grasp and shoved it into his pocket. When he looked up at me, I could tell he was just as friendly as before, but now he was a little on guard.

"Nice to meet you, Park Junhe—e," he said, teasingly poking at how I'd introduced myself. His eyes danced as he looked at me, which somehow happened to make me a little flustered. No one had looked at me like that before. "So, uh," he started as he looked down at the book I was currently holding in my right hand, "what're you reading?"

"Oh," I answered, looking down at the book. _The Vegetarian _by Han Kang stared back at me—I'd decided that this was the one I wanted to buy earlier—but, honestly, the thought of someone finding out what I liked to read in my spare time was a bit intimate for a first meeting for me. Weird, huh? "It's, ah, something a friend told me to come pick up for her." _Liar. _"She says it's supposed to be really good or something, but I don't know."

Donghun looked at the cover with curiosity, seemingly recognizing it. "Oh, _The Vegetarian_! I know that story," he said, pointing at the picture on the cover. "I read it a couple months ago, believe it or not. It talks about how something that seems like a small choice can actually have a huge butterfly effect and change your life. You should definitely give it a try once your friend is done with it, or you could borrow my copy of it, if you want."

"Your copy?" I asked with a slight delay. My mind was still focused on his eyes.

"Oh, definitely. It's a great book; you should give it a try some time. Um, actually, if you want, I could give you my KakaoTalk if you wanna meet so I can lend it to you?"

_He literally just gave you his number, _my head was screaming at me. _Say yes, say yes!_

But, that's not what I did.

I was—always have been—a little awkward around people I thought were . . . well, I guess you could say _pretty—_pretty and nice at the same time. They were so rare, so of course the first thing that came out of my mouth was completely idiotic.

"Um, no, it's all right, I can probably just borrow it from my friend once she's done with it, I think," I said, and I immediately regretted it.

Donghun's eyes fell slightly at my response, but he was quick to recover. "Oh, that sounds good, then." That stupid, charming smile found its way into his face again. "But maybe we could meet some time just to, I dunno, go out for coffee or something."

_He just asked you out_.

_Like, on a date. _

_Oh, my God._

I was beginning to panic as the man pulled his phone from his jacket pocket and handed it to me. What was I going to do? I barely knew him, and, yeah, maybe it was stupid, but I wanted to get to know him better. He seemed like he'd be cool to hang out with.

_Just as friends though_, I tried to convince myself. _Just as friends. _

With every part of my better judgement screaming at me, I quickly typed in my user ID and handed the phone back to him. "Yeah, maybe," I said with a small smile.

I think we both would've stood there, just taking and smiling, me being completely infatuated with this enigma that stood right in front of me, if the man who stood behind the counter hadn't called to us, "The store closes in twenty minutes."

Donghun looked at me, his eyes squinting slightly as the side of his lip turned up a bit, and he said, "I guess I'll be going, then. It was nice to meet you, Junhee. I'll, uh, message you later, then, to see when you'd like to go get some coffee, yeah?"

A breathy "Yeah," was all I could manage as Donghun smiled one last time, turned with a small wave, and left.

I couldn't stop thinking about him as I purchased _The Vegetarian _and started on my own way home, either.

***

The next few days were quiet.

My life carried on how it always had: writing lyrics for my company to give to some new idol group, cleaning my apartment that was somehow perpetually dusty, and wondering what in the hell this scar on my wrist meant.

By day four, I was beginning to worry. I didn't want to seem desperate and text Donghun after he'd told me he would contact me first, but I didn't want to let the chance of getting to know him slip through my fingers like water, either.

Now, as I stepped out of the shower and towel-dried myself off, I couldn't help but stare at the few markings on my torso, arms, and face that held so much behind them.

I couldn't help not understanding why they were there in the first place. I knew the meaning behind most of the things that attributed to the makeup of myself, but there were some things that had never been important enough to be of any significance. I had no recollection of those kinds of memories. What were the marks supposed to say? They were signs of a past I wasn't living now, so why did I have to carry them with me? What was even the point?

I let my hand rest over the scar on my abdomen as I turned to look at it from a slightly different angle in my bathroom mirror. It was starting to hurt a bit, too, I noticed. Why, though?

Why were there so many _why_'s in my life right now?

The irony of the question as it passed through my mind made me laugh a little.

I decided I was getting too hung up on this kind of stuff, anyway.

It only took a couple minutes for me to change into some sweatpants and a T-shirt and find myself laying on my couch, some variety show playing on the T.V. in the background as I scrolled though twitter.

_Ding!_

A notification popped up right as a video of a cute cat sleeping started to play.

And, huh, would you look at that.

It was from KakaoTalk.

It also happened to be from the man I'd been thinking of for the past few days.

My stomach flipped as I looked at his screen name pop up.

**leehun:** _hey, is this junhee, the guy i met at the bookstore the other night?_

I didn't even want to answer at first. I just stared at the message, the cogs turning in my mind begging my thumbs to write something—anything—back.

**parkj:** _yep, that's me!! _😁

I stared at the message as my thumb hovered over the _send_ button, but I wasn't sure about it. Did it seem too eager or desperate? I was so afraid of scaring this guy off, so when my thumbs erased the message, typed a new one in its stead, and sent it, I wasn't surprised.

**parkj:** _yep, is this donghun?_

"Gotta play it cool," I mumbled to myself, watching and waiting for the next message. I shifted on the couch, trying to control my nerves.

**leehun:** _oh, i'm so glad i got the right contact!_

Okay, so maybe it was okay not to worry so much about impressions. The energy radiating through Donghun’s messages was enough reassurance of that.

**leehun:** _i know it might be a bit soon, but do you think it would be okay to ask you to lunch on saturday? i just really thought you were interesting that first time we met. you don't have to say yes, of course, so don't worry :)_

Oh, my God, he just hit me with a smiley face—the stupid, adorable marker that cute guys used to make you fall for them. How was I supposed to last five minutes just sitting in the vicinity of this guy?

**parkj:** _um, yeah that works for me!_

The next one was instantaneous.

**leehun:** _great, i'll see you then :)_

**leehun:** _wait, sorry, i forgot to ask where? i got too excited haha_

I let out a snort at that, my lips tugging to a close-mouthed smile. I was quick to respond to the cutie.

**parkj:** 😂_ don't worry about it. i live not too far from a place i know called beat and beans, would that be an a-okay place for you?_

**leehun:** _perfect ! see you at 2 in a few days ;D_

I'll admit it. The wink was absolutely adorable, mostly because it had somehow managed to not come off as suggestive. He had to have been the only guy I'd seen use that emoticon without seeming like a creep.

Now I just had to worry about somehow not scaring him away.

***

The cafe was only a five-minute walk from where I lived, but as I put one foot in front of the other and put in my earbuds in, time seemed to slow down to a tortoise's pace.

I felt a rush of cold air as the wind whipped my hair into my eyes, which only caused me to pull my brown knitted scarf closer to my face. My coat was somehow managing to keep me warm as the wind blew some fallen leaves past my boots; the sight of the colors swirling in the air was enough to make me feel a bit nostalgic. I'd always loved the colder months.

The cream sweater and the jeans I was wearing couldn't have done anything to keep me warm on their own outside, but I was sure they'd at least help me in the coffee shop. It felt like the middle of January already.

Maybe the cold was also helping the time stretch the length of a millennia.

When I finally got to Beat and Beans, I had to take a moment and take breath before going in. I could see through one of the windows where Donghun had already arrived, sipping one of their specialty Frappuccinos, a second drink sitting across from him. He was just as gorgeous as I remembered him being when we'd first met, and just the sight of him made my heart flutter in excitement. I was actually, actually going on a date with him.

Wow.

The bell overhead of the door rang when I entered, and saw how Donghun's eyes lit up and a smile took over his lips when he saw me. He got out of his seat immediately as I approached him—_oh_, so I'd found myself a gentleman—and said, a little breathlessly, "Hi," when I reached the chair he stood near.

"Hey," I responded, smiling. "It's, uh—it's good to see you again."

Oh, my God, did I just stutter? I wasn't really as nervous as I should have been to start stuttering, but maybe I was more nervous than I thought? What if he thought I was incompetent now, or maybe just didn't know how to speak? Would he even want to have me sit across from him?

"You, too," Donghun said, and he seemed to stare at me for a split second longer than what most people would have considered normal with that stupid, adorable smile on his stupid, perfect face before he moved into action. "Oh," he said, pulling the wooden chair opposite of his from underneath the table, "let me get your chair."

"Oh, thanks," I responded, sitting down with his help. I hadn't dated many people before—I don't know, it had just never felt _right_—but it was nice with Donghun. It was easy.

“I got you something I thought you might like," he said of the drink that sat in front of me as he took his own seat. "I hope you don't mind; I was just trying to make a good impression." He smiled.

Smile, smile, smile, it's all the man ever did!

And it seemed to be all I did when I was around him. He was just too charming.

"No, no, it's all right. Perfect, actually," I said, leaning forward a bit to inspect the drink. Somehow, Donghun had managed to guess my favorite drink: a Strawberry Frappuccino. I took a sip of it, and it was just as good as it had been all the times I'd ordered it before.

"Do you like it?" Donghun asked, noticing my somewhat long silence. His eyes glanced to the drink and back to my eyes quickly, seemingly trying to gauge my reaction.

"It's really good," I mumbled around the straw as I glanced up at the brunet, my laughter escaping around the straw. "I'm sorry, I'm really not that interesting," I apologized and pulled the drink from my lips, nervous I was stressing him out from my own lack of engagement.

"Don't be," Donghun replied, taking a sip from his own drink. "It's just nice to have you here, to see you again." His eyes were kind as he looked at me, and I could feel a blush coming to my cheeks. The brunet leaned forward and rested his head in one of his hands as his arm held it up. "How was your day?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary," I responded, unsure of what else to say. "You know, boring: woke up, got dressed, came here. Thought of some lyrics on the way here—I’m a songwriter for my day job, actually. This is the highlight of my day, really. I'm probably going to go home and crash on the couch later. What about you? How's your day been going?"

This conversation was so _dry. _I've always hated the simple “how are you, how was your day?” conversations unless they were absolutely mandatory. They didn't help me figure the person I was talking to out very well. I had to find something to grab onto, something to actually make a conversation.

Donghun laughed, tilting his head sideways a bit more. "That's nice to hear, that this is the highlight of your day; I'm flattered. My day was okay—you know, normal like you said."

There was a lull in conversation, but it seemed like Donghun didn't much mind. I, on the other hand, was getting anxious.

I looked at Donghun as he sipped his coffee and couldn't help but ask, "I'm just wondering, why'd you ask me to come today?"

Donghun was surprised to say the least—in fact, he just about spit out his straw—but he recovered his composure quickly. "Honestly," he said, "I don't know."

I was a little disappointed in that answer, but I'm not sure what I'd expected to hear.

"But," he continued, "when I saw you walk into that bookstore a few nights ago, I thought you were one of the most beautiful people I'd ever seen."

It was my turn to spit out my straw.

"I'm"—_cough_—"sorry? Really?" I asked, flustered. I was incredibly flattered, but the blush on my cheeks and the surprised expression that rearranged my features must have told the brunet opposite of me that I'd liked the compliment.

How was this man so shameless as to say stuff like this?

Donghun laughed and said with wide, teasing eyes, "Well, yeah, Mr. Park Junhee, but I didn't ask you out just because of that. You just seemed really interesting while we talked, especially after I saw you were looking at _The Vegetarian, _since it's one of my favorite books, and—well, I dunno. I just knew I wanted to see you again."

I let that hang in the air for a bit as I looked down at my lap. I was flattered beyond measure, and I consequently had _no _idea of what to say. "Thanks," I squeaked as I looked up at him, my head held low. "I didn't know you liked me that much," I said.

"The point of a date is to get to know someone better, right?"

"You're absolutely right."

Donghun looked at me with curious eyes. "Well, hey. I know we haven't really spent much time here, but what do you say we take our drinks and go somewhere?"

"Where?" I asked, thinking about the possibilities of where we would go.

"I don't know yet, Junhee. I do know I want to get to know you better, and I can tell that cafés really aren't where you can let yourself be yourself." Donghun bit his lip as he stood from the table and came over to my side of it, holding out a hand to me to help me stand from my chair.

I laughed, smiling up at this interesting, comfortable, not-quite-a-stranger man and raised my hand to his.

I raised from the table with his help as he held me by the wrist, and I looked into his kind eyes as I said, "I'd like that. We could go to this music store down the road I know, or we can go see—Ah!" My speech was broken off by an electric shock that travelled through my arm and curled into my abdomen, causing me to jerk my hand away from Donghun's unintentionally.

I looked at the other man, whose own eyes had gone as round as saucers, with surprise and all kinds of questions running through my mind.

"I—You felt that too, right?" I asked timidly as Donghun looked down at his hand. I looked at my wrist, where he'd taken it to help me up.

"Oh yeah," he answered. He wasn't much for words then as we stood there for a few seconds and processed what had just happened.

"Huh," I said, massaging my unusually painful wrist with my other hand. " Hey, Donghun, you have a weird birthmark on your hand, don’t you?"

Even before the words had made it out of my lips, I already knew the answer.

"Mhm," he answered, and I could see the lightbulb go off in his head as his lips parted in a breath and he looked at me.

Everything up until now with Donghun made so much sense. I could finally understand why it had been so easy to talk to him, why it had been so easy to laugh at his jokes and talk to him even though I'd been afraid of scaring him off, why it had felt like I'd known him forever.

It was because I _had _known him forever.

I mumbled to myself, "I guess I know what _that_ scar's for now."

***

The next days after that first date had gone past a little awkwardly. I could tell Donghun had liked me, still did even after that weird electric feeling had subsided, but I knew he needed some time to process it. It had taken me by surprise, too, of course, and I let myself take the next few days after that date to fully understand everything.

I'd always known I'd eventually find the meaning of that scar that had caused so much curiosity and confusion throughout my life, but this . . . This was different from all the other scars, spots, and small things all over my body that symbolized insignificant things about myself.

This one had a _person_ attached to it.

Was I supposed to accept it and move forward into a relationship with someone I barely knew? I might have known him in one or a few of my past lives, but the experiences both he and I had grown and learned from had to have changed us even the smallest bit, right? Were we even still compatible?

I felt like I'd fallen into something I didn't quite know how to get out of, and it wasn't even something I'd chosen.

I supposed this was one of those times when life and fate had their own plans and expectations of where I was meant to be.

I hated not being in control of that factor.

But I still liked _him_.

I looked at my phone now as I lay on my bed, navigating through it easily to find the KakaoTalk app. I opened his contact and looked at the picture he'd uploaded of himself for his profile picture, and I felt a smile come to my lips for what felt like the umpteenth time since knowing him. He was so beautiful as he looked back at me with a small upturn of his lips and a smile in his eyes.

I sighed.

What was I going to do about this?

It had been almost two weeks since our date, but I wondered if that had been enough—or maybe even too much—time for both of us to think.

I wanted to text him so badly, but I didn’t want to push him.

_Hey, _I typed quickly, ignoring the apprehension that hummed in the back of my mind. _I was wondering if you wanted to meet again, just to talk. It's okay if you don't want to; I totally get it. Just let me know if you decide you want to._

It was a small message, but it was more than what we'd said to each other in what felt like forever.

Was I being over dramatic? Yes, but when was I ever not?

And to say I was nervous to send it would have been the understatement of the century.

This whole "soulmate" thing was unexpectedly complicated and nerve wracking, but I knew I had to get over this bump if I wanted to actually get somewhere.

I decided to delete that message and just call him instead.

After a few rings and a few flips of my stomach, he picked up.

_"Hello? Junhee?"_

"Hey, yeah, it's me," I said in response, picking at the sweatshirt I was wearing.

_"Oh, hey. What's up? Did you need something?"_

Donghun's voice was incredibly groggy; he must have been one of those late sleepers, I noted as I looked over at the alarm clock—10:26, it read—that I'd abandoned too many years ago.

"No. Well, actually, yeah, kind of," I said, resisting the urge to stutter more. "I was wondering . . . Would it be okay with you if we could talk some time later today? About that Saturday."

The line was silent for a second too long, and then, _"Saturday? I mean, yeah, I guess. I've been meaning to ask you, actually. Where did you want to meet?"_

A hum escaped my throat and my finger tapped my bottom lip as I thought. I was so happy he was still willing to talk to me. "I don't know, really. Could I meet you outside the bookstore we met in and decide where to go from there?"

_"Uh, yeah, I can do that. Meet me there at noon?"_

"Sure," I responded, and I couldn't stop the relieved sigh that escaped my lips. "I'll see you then, Donghun."

_"See ya."_

My phone plopped down next to me on the bed I lay on as I felt the rest of the muscles in my body relax.

This was just another step I knew I had to take, some way or another, and at least this way I didn't want to pull my hair out of my head.

The next few short hours between our meeting flew by as I dressed myself in a warm sweater, some jeans, and a brown hat to ward off the ever-intensifying cold. My boots kept my feet warm as I travelled through the city streets, keeping my head down against the wind.

The moment I saw Donghun outside of that bookstore, I felt like my heart leapt straight into my throat. He was just as handsome as ever, with his sharp eyes looking through the streets and his hands rubbing each other to ward off the cold and his cheekbones that—.

_Please, focus, Junhee. _

"Donghun," I called as I approached him with a wave and a smile, both of which he thankfully returned.

"Hey," he responded, meeting me close to where I was standing so I wouldn't have to walk so far. "The chill out here is crazy. Do you mind if we go inside? Is that all right?"

"Oh! Yeah, no, of course! They have coffee in here, too," I said as I subconsciously took Donghun's arm and allowed him to lead us into the bookstore.

It wasn’t until we were standing next to one of the bookstore’s few cafe tables did I realize how I was holding onto Donghun. I looked to his arm and then to his face, but he ignored the touch all the same.

Maybe he liked how close I was to him?

He looked at me, his eyes lifted in happiness just slightly at the sides, and he said to me, "You want to sit here?"

"Sure," I said a little breathlessly, now accustomed to his looks but never unaffected by them.

I realized as I looked at him that I'd . . . Well, I'd missed him. I still barely knew him, but I'd still grown attached somehow. Maybe it was in the way he'd always been kind and interested in what I said? Maye it was because he just felt so familiar?

Maybe it was in the way his energy felt strangely like home.

Now, ever the gentleman, Donghun pulled my seat out just like he had the first time we'd gone somewhere together.

At least his kindness hadn't disappeared since we'd last met.

"So," I said as Donghun sat across from me, a shy, nervous grin on my face, "I, uh, don't really know how to start this."

"That's okay," the brunet said, leaning toward me. "I think we both kind of figured out what happened, anyways." He laughed ever so slightly at what I could only guess was the memory of what had happened between both of us a couple weeks ago, which put my mind at ease at least a little bit. He was comfortable, which meant he didn’t feel weird about the whole situation, right?

"Yeah," I sighed. "I mean, a little bit of electricity and a lot of confusion, throw in a splash of my perpetually confused self, and I guess we're soulmates now?"

Donghun laughed. "Oh, my God, Junhee. Yes! Yeah, we're soulmates. We literally just met, but, yeah, here we are."

I didn't know what to say to the matter-of-factness in his voice, so instead I did the next best thing that came to mind. "I mean, I'd heard about the whole soulmate thing before, but . . . I dunno, not a lot of people find theirs. I'm even more surprised we met as young as we are. And how we met, too; it was just really weird. Like, I left my apartment in the first place to get the whole soulmate thing _off _my head, and instead I went and _found my whole-ass soulmate._"

I was rambling, I knew, but by the look on Donghun's face—one that held a mix of fondness and entertainment—he didn't seem to care.

Was he . . . _endeared by it_?

He seemed to read the question right off my face as I stared at him.

"I like you," he said, propping his arm on the wobbly bookstore cafe and leaning his cheek on an opened palm.

Well, I guess we were just laying it all out on the table today, huh?

"I-I . . . What?"

"Well, I kinda freaked out about the whole thing at first," the brunet explained, brown eyes looking intently into my own. "It's not every day you touch someone and every cell in your body feels like it's humming, but, before that had even happened, I'd thought, 'I just met him, and I feel like we're connected somehow. What might explain that? Infatuation? Interest?' All it took was a little shock for me to finally see the big picture, though."

I laughed at his own small speech, my smile growing wider with each word he said. "Okay, wow, this feels like a confession," I let out breathily.

"Not a confession, so much," Donghun said. "More like a 'I really want to know you better'-sion." And then he threw me a playful wink, and the deal was sealed for me.

I knew I didn't love him—how could I after knowing him for such a short time?—but I knew I sure as hell liked him a lot.

"Do you want something to drink?" I asked him after a second of us just staring at each other from across the table. "My treat, obviously."

He nodded, and said, "I'd really like that. Thanks."

"An Americano and a strawberry Frappuccino coming up."

***

People aren't exaggerating when they say that love isn't easy. It sure as hell didn't come easy for us, despite the fact that him and I had always been meant to be together. We argued with each other over stupid things; we laughed until we cried; we talked to each other about everything from the sun to the stars, the earth to the sky, and, well, sometimes about how sausage was definitely the superior breakfast food—and, somehow, through it all, we fell in love with one another.

Currently, as I'm writing this down in the little journal Donghun gave me as a birthday gift yesterday, we're on the couch with one my favorite movies playing. I'm tucked under his arm, but I have my words hidden from his view.

"What're you writing?" he asks me now, looking at me with those curious eyes I admire I much.

"Nothing," I answer with a glance his way. My wrist is dancing across the page as I try to keep up with our conversation. "Just writing 'I love Lee Donghun' over and over again."

He smiles. I love his smile.

"I love you too, sweetheart," he says, pulling me closer. He kisses the top of my head, one of those small gestures of his I love, too.

Whether it's a peck on the cheek, a brush of an arm, or one of Donghun's famous "I'm sleepy, hug me" hugs, it doesn't matter.

I'm absolutely, irrevocably, madly in love with him. We've been together for three years, and every moment of the day I’m finding new things about him that cause me to love him even more than I'd ever thought I even could.

"Hey, Donghun," I say, looking up at him. "Guess what."

"What?"

"You're just the love of my life."

"Oh, hush," he laughs, but he knows I mean it and I know he truly loves those words.

I guess I should go now. He's getting really cuddly and I don't know if I can keep writing this without him seeing it.

Just a quick thought: I've been pretty lucky. Thank God I decided to take a walk that night.

~ Park-Lee Junhee


End file.
